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Uganda's clean stove revolution

How a simple but brightly coloured stove called the 'Ugastove' is helping Ugandans cook and think greener.

Sat Aug 17 2013 10:13:24 GMT+0000

In Uganda, more than 90 percent of the population still cook on open fires using charcoal or wood.

In a busy market in the Ugandan capital of Kampala, a group of women gather to cook. While the dishes they prepare are traditional, the brightly coloured stoves they cook on are new.

The locally made Ugastove, which requires on average half the amount of charcoal that traditional cookers use, saves money in reduced fuel costs, cuts carbon emissions and reduces deforestation.

Ugastove's special ingredient is an insulating clay liner placed inside the traditional metal stove, which reduces the need for charcoal. To date, 250,000 units have been sold.

In Uganda, more than 90 percent of the population still cook over open fires using charcoal or wood. In the last 20 years alone, this has contributed to almost one-third of the country's trees being cut down.

In this earthrise special, Russell Beard travels to Kampala to see how the Ugastove is slowing deforestation in Uganda.

As well as having a detrimental impact on health, the use of charcoal is contributing to carbon emissions and a growing rate of deforestation.

The Ugandan Environment Management Agency predicts that at current rates of deforestation, that there will be no forests left by 2050.

The Ugastove is a locally made stove designed to use on average half of the charcoal that an ordinary metal stove uses.

"Business is booming," says Rehema Nakyazze, the CEO of Ugastove. "Because in Uganda we don’t have any other options. Fine, there is electricity, gas, but the cheapest means of cooking is charcoal."

The brightly coloured stove, which combines the strength of a metallic stove case with the insulating properties of a clay liner, is growing in popularity. So far 250,000 units have been sold.

Babirye Nalukwago cooks a simple banana dish called "matoke" on a Ugastove.

Winnie Nalukwago explains that she likes the Ugastove because it can cook food much more quickly than ordinary stoves.

According to Impact Carbon(***)s calculations, the Ugastoves have helped save more than a million tonnes of carbon from being released into the atmosphere.

The environmental benefits of using efficient stoves is a central part of Ugastove(***)s message.